Original subtitles

- [Narrator] For thousands of years,

they've provided us with everything,

from gum,

to stamps, to holy water?

Offering better entertainment,

communication, and transportation.

These coin operated machines can be addictive,

[man laughing]

annoying, and sometimes really weird.

[chicken clucking]

- This is made by a San Quentin prisoner.

- [Narrator] Once said to contribute

to an immoral society,

and today they contribute to billion dollar industries.

You'll never think of that loose change the same way again,

on Modern Marvels.

[intense electronic music]

[upbeat music]

Small change is big business,

and vending machines are the biggest source of revenue

in the coin operated industry.

A hundred million people use them every day,

most stay open 24 hours, seven days a week,

and you can buy anything from aspirin to ice cream.

But the most common vending machines are those that

dispense drinks and snacks.

The food and refreshment vending industry

in the United States is approximately $37 billion a year

and a hundred million Americans a day walk up to

nearly five million machines and make a purchase.

- There are approximately a million people employed

in the industry,

and over 13,500 companies providing service.

- [Narrator] Making the job of those who

maintain vending machines more efficient

is having technology at the tip of their fingers.

- Here, at Ace Vending, we use handheld computers.

What the driver does is open the machine,

plugs it into the computer board of the vending machine,

downloads the financial and sales data,

and then we collect that data

and bring it back to the warehouse.

[upbeat music]

- [Narrator] Every time the drivers finish their rounds,

they download the data into the company's computer system.

[upbeat music]

This gives an exact accounting of the money collected

and of every product sold.

By continually updating the sales history of each machine,

warehouse workers are able to accurately build containers

for the anticipated restocking needs

of the machines on each driver's route.

[upbeat music]

- And what that does is prevents him from coming in twice.

By coming in, and looking in, and seeing

what the vending machine needs,

then going back to the truck and getting it,

it's already preloaded for him based on the download.

- [Narrator] Vending machine technology has come a long way.

[air whooshing] [upbeat music]

Scholars believe that the first vending machine was

a holy water dispenser used in Greek temples,

dating back to 215 BCE.

When deposited in the machine, the weight of the coin

caused a lever to lower and dispense

a small amount of the water.

Today's vending machines can be complex,

able to take all kinds of payments, deliver change,

and offer an almost dizzying variety of goodies.

At Crane Merchandising's

enormous 500,000 square foot facility in St. Louis,

snack and drink machines are born.

The process starts with large rolls of steel sheeting.

Each coil will manufacture about 125 to 150 machines.

- We will mount the steel, the coiled steel

onto the dual mandrel,

and the mandrel will take it over to a decoiling process.

There's a deep impression into the floor,

and we'll take the bend out,

and then we shear it to about 15 feet in length.

- They move from there to a punching, notching station.

From there, they move into a roll forming station,

and the front and the back edge of the cabinet

are rolled on.

And once they've left there,

they move into the welding station,

where the components for the inside of the cabinet are added.

- [Narrator] The next stop is the tangent bending station,

where the long steel sheet is bent to form the top

and two sides of the cabinet.

[air whooshing] [upbeat music]

Further down the assembly line,

the bottom and the legs are attached.

[upbeat music]

Then workers hang the cabinets in various parts

on a moving conveyor

that carries them through a washer and dryer.

[air whooshing]

Next, it's onto a room where they are coated with

a dry, powdered paint.

- This line has an electrostatic charge on it,

so that, when the powder is sprayed on them,

it is like a magnet, and holds it on there

while they're being painted.

That charge is held on them until they go into an oven.

They're heated to 450 degrees.

That melts that paint powder,

becomes a liquid, and then no longer needs

the electrostatic charge.

[air whooshing] [upbeat music]

- [Narrator] Once the basic structure of

each type of machine is completed,

workers install all the internal and electronic parts,

[upbeat music]

including the defining electronic coin mechanisms.

[air whooshing]

- This is the standard coin mechanism,

sits inside a vending machine,

and when coins are put in

through the front of the machine,

routes 'em through here,

and there's a series of sensors inside,

and it uses this to measure how the coin going through

changes the frequency.

From that, it can very accurately determine thickness,

what the diameter is,

what alloy it's made out of.

Used to be lots of problems with frauds

and counterfeit coins going through.

That's more or less disappeared with the advent

of this electronic recognition technology.

[air whooshing]

- [Narrator] And to avoid losing sales

from consumers not carrying enough change,

most of today's vending machines have options;

paper money or a credit card.

- Virtually every vending machine has a bill validator.

It recognizes bills by shining light through it,

little LEDs that go through at known points on here,

and depending on the ink

and if the paper that had been made by the mint,

it'll know that it's a good bill,

it'll know what denomination is.

It also checks magnetic inks.

Many people don't realize this,

but the black ink on the front of a dollar bill is magnetic.

- [Narrator] When manufacturing snack machines,

customer specifications determine

the types of metal spirals to be installed on the shelves.

[upbeat music] [air whooshing]

- This is the heart of a snack machine.

You notice, they'll come in different varieties.

This is a 30 count, this is an 11 count.

Your 11 count usually produces chips or pastry,

and this will do candy bars, and peanuts,

and things like that.

- [Narrator] The back end of each spiral is attached to

a small 24 volt motor that rotates once

to push the selected product forward,

[upbeat music]

dropping it into the tray at the bottom of the machine.

Crane Merchandising has come up with an entertaining way

to dispense 20 ounce bottled soft drinks

without dropping them.

- The XY delivery mechanism rises to the height of the shelf

and delivers the product conveniently

to the delivery port.

There's a good bit of theater, but most importantly,

when the product is delivered, it hasn't agitated the drink.

So, when I open the cap, it doesn't explode.

- [Narrator] Some vending machines can dispense

more than just soda, candy, and chips.

Others can sell you an entire meal.

[horns honking]

New York City's East Village was home to

one of the last giant vending machines in the United States.

Bamn! Automat launched in 2006,

and was the talk of the city

before the owner moved on to other ventures.

- Some people look at it as a vending machine,

but we look at it more like little peep windows for foodies.

[upbeat music]

- [Narrator] Unseen by the public,

the shelves are being restocked by the kitchen

on the other side of the wall of doors.

- The way it works is get a bunch of coins,

and then you just drop 'em into the slot,

and then you just pull any of these doors

with the food in it,

and you can pull the food out.

Voila. [air whooshing]

- [Narrator] The concept of automats isn't new.

They were first seen in both New York and Philadelphia.

At their peak of popularity in the 1950s,

there were 180 automats in the two cities,

and they fed more than 800,000 people per day.

Back then, they were large restaurants,

with dining areas offering a full selection of items

to put together substantial meals.

The last of the original automats closed in 1991,

with the explosion of fast food restaurants.

[upbeat music]

- Back then a typical grilled cheese

would be probably a nickel.

Now, it's two dollars, but two dollars in today's value,

it's worth it.

- [Narrator] But while fresh foods in vending machines

were all the rage in the 1950s,

over a century ago,

all it took was a stick of gum

to launch the US coin operated vending business.

- [Narrator] America is home

to the most vending machines in the world,

with the current estimate of

over seven million coin operated machines,

serving everything from electronics to makeup,

to chips and soda.

According to the

National Automated Merchandising Association,

consumers worldwide purchased

over 88 billion bottled beverages

from vending machines last year.

But what launched the vending industry in America

wasn't a beverage.

It was the humble ball of chewing gum.

[upbeat music]

Today, 20 million Americans chew

16 or more pieces of chewing gum per day.

[air whooshing]

The Spearmint Stick from Wrigley's Doublemint

remains America's leading chewing gum brand.

[upbeat music]

The OK Manufacturing Company in Salt Lake City proves

you can still build a thriving business on gum.

[bubble popping] [upbeat music]

Despite offering a cheaper product,

this machine can earn more than

any vending machine offering.

Brothers, Jeff and Kurt Ostler, know this well.

They entered the business in a big way.

- The idea in vending is to capture the quarter,

and in order to capture the quarter,

you have to capture their attention first.

There is nothing better than

the big and giant gumball machine to capture attention.

This machine holds 40,000 pieces of gum.

- It stands about 6'10 up here,

holds the 40,000 gumballs,

which, if we equate in dollars, that's $10,000

that this machine would dispense out

and put in its cash box.

Our very first time we went and put one out,

three days after we had it there, it had over $500 in it.

That's when we knew we had a great concept.

- I used to put my child into the side.

They would go in to collect the machine,

'cause that's where the money was,

and push the quarters out.

[upbeat music]

- [Narrator] For the Ostlers,

the giant gumball machine was just the beginning.

[air whooshing] [upbeat music]

Another standout in their growing product line

is the Roadrunner.

- We decided people wanted a little more entertainment,

maybe a little more bang out of their quarter.

We made a spiral machine,

so that, after you put your quarter in

and you turn the handle,

you get a little bit of a show,

in addition to getting a piece of gum.

[quarter clinking]

- [Narrator] While these gumball machines are entertaining,

they all begin the same way.

[air whooshing]

- Here, at OK Manufacturing,

we make almost all of our own plastic parts.

For instance, we start with plastic sheets

that we put into our plastic vacuum thermal former,

where it's heated up and sucked over a mold,

which we also make here.

[upbeat music]

We make a lot of our own circular globes here

through a custom process,

where we take sheets of clear plastic,

place it in an oven where it's heated up,

where it becomes nice and pliable.

It's placed in our custom machine,

where we actually inject air that blows the globe up

until it hits a micro switch.

and that micro switch is set at a certain height,

depending on the diameter of the globe.

[upbeat music]

[upbeat music] [router whirring]

- [Narrator] OK's craftsmen cut and clean up any rough edges

on the globes and other plastic parts.

[upbeat music]

Then, assemble them into gumball machines.

[upbeat music]

The coin mechanism purchased from an outside manufacturer

is one of the last parts to be attached.

[air whooshing]

- This is our standard coin mechanism

that we put inside all of our equipment,

because the quality.

You'll go ahead and you'll put quarter in.

As the quarter then starts to turn here on the back side,

you'll notice the circumference check

to make sure it's the correct size.

If it happens to be a penny, nickel, or dime,

it will go ahead and just drop through,

and as it starts to come,

you'll notice you have a little ratchet arm here

that's making sure that a kid can't rack it back and forth

to try to get the extra product.

And as you come down,

the quarter will come and fall on out.

[air whooshing] [upbeat music]

- [Narrator] The Ostler brothers keep finding ways

to stand out in the gumball market.

It could be thanks to their competitive natures.

- This is our most interactive gumball machine,

our Soccer Ball, which allows you to be able to play.

- Now you can play with your food.

- Get ready to go and lose! [machine rattling]

- [Narrator] This hybrid machine mixes sport and gumballs.

It makes it a viable addition to

another major coin operated industry.

[laughing]

Arcade games and amusements.

[upbeat music]

For more than a century, it's been a hypnotic realm of

flashing lights, crazy mechanics,

and freaky visuals.

[jaunty music]

Before radio and TV, penny arcades offered the public

a variety of entertainment,

including the earliest forms of moving pictures.

- This is an early motion picture machine

built in the late 1800s.

It's called a clamshell mutoscope.

It's what they used before film.

And if I open this up, I can show you the insides.

And it's actually the coin that starts the mechanism

which activates the flip cards.

The person operating the machine is the motor,

and the faster you turn the handle,

the faster the picture will go by.

The flip cards do one complete rotation, 360 degrees,

which is approximately 1500 cards,

and then it shuts off.

[upbeat music]

- [Narrator] Mutoscopes were soon replaced

with kinetoscopes, invented by

Thomas Edison and William Dixon.

The first kinetoscope parlor opened in 1894,

offering the public its first chance to see

motion pictures on film.

[upbeat music]

One side of the cabinet contained a battery

that powered a small motor,

and, on the other side, behind a wooden panel,

a projection lamp lit 50 feet of film

that ran through the machine.

But, when Edison perfected the movie projector,

he made kinetoscopes instantly obsolete.

[upbeat music] [air whooshing]

From arm wrestling a mechanical brute,

trying to keep up with a virtual jumprope.

From those creepy, old fortune tellers

to dancing cowboys,

coin operated machines have been amusing and entertaining us

for more than a century.

Coin operated music machines first appeared in

the late 1800s.

Some of the earliest were basically big music boxes.

And soon, many became

very elaborate technological fantasies.

[upbeat music]

The mechanics were often a big part of the entertainment.

- This is a Seberg Nickelodeon from the early 1900s.

I'll open it up, so you can see what's inside.

When you put your quarter in,

it drops into a slot which operates an electrical switch,

which sends a signal to the electric motor,

and all of its function came from the paper roll.

In this particular instrument,

we have piano, and we have a set of violin pipes,

and we also have what's called a mandolin rail,

which makes the piano sound like a honky tonk piano.

When the tune is completed,

this perforation crosses the tracker bar,

sends a pneumatic signal to the electrical switch,

and drops the coin into the coin box.

[coin clinking]

[upbeat music]

- [Narrator] Penny phonographs became popular

in the early 1900s,

and were the precursors to the jukebox,

which first appeared in the 1920s.

[air whooshing] [rock music]

Companies like Rock-Ola are still making jukeboxes,

but with a 21st century flair.

- The first jukeboxes played the very large 78 RPM records,

just one side.

And, of course, that transcended into the 45 RPM record

with a big hole in it in about 1949.

And then, eventually, the CDs came in in the mid eighties.

But this has transcended from CDs

over to a jukebox that is connected to the internet,

literally plays hundreds of thousands of CDs.

This is a touch screen.

You can just go on it, touch what you would like,

and it blasted out of this jukebox with 900 Watts of power.

[upbeat music]

- [Narrator] Jukeboxes have managed to

keep up with the times.

[air whooshing]

But more coins are inserted into

another part of the amusement business; gaming.

In fact, at its peak, customers spend

over eight billion dollars a year,

mainly due to the lure of video games.

[tires screeching] [air whooshing]

- This is an example of

one of the first successful coin operated

pong style video games.

It's very primitive by today's standards,

but by 1972 standards, this was ahead of its time.

Everyone was very impressed to be able to play a game

on a TV set instead of just watching it,

and then the micro processor made the game

10 times more complex and amazing.

And with the advent of games like Pac-Man a few years later,

the public got really excited.

- [Narrator] Some players were even more excited

when they found out they could fool

the simple coin mechanisms used back then.

- In the late '70s and early '80s,

when video games came out, people became so creative.

They would go and drill holes through their quarters,

tie a little bit of fishing line in there,

put it in 'til it hit the micro switch, pull it back out,

get their quarter, get a free game.

Eventually, the industry wised up

and they put cutters in there,

where, as soon as you tried to pull anything back out,

it would cut that line, quarter would go into the box.

You'd still get your game,

but the operator would still get his money.

- [Narrator] Before video games, pinball was king.

In 1932, there were around 150 pinball machine manufacturers

in the US, but now only one survives.

Stern Pinball, located in Melrose Park, Illinois.

The company's president, Gary Stern,

has been around pinball most of his life,

and the games his company now produces

are much different than the ones his father used to sell.

[upbeat music]

- This is a pinball machine from the late '60s.

These days, they were much simpler games

than we make today,

with electromechanical logic, relay step up units,

much like in an old telephone system.

You can't make something this simple today.

People are looking for more entertainment,

more to do, much like you can't make

cars with roll up windows.

People want power windows today,

so now we make games with a lot of toys to play.

[upbeat music]

They're much more complex,

they do a lot more, and a lot more entertainment value.

- [Narrator] Stern Pinball produces

three or four titles a year,

like this Indiana Jones game.

[air whooshing]

Stern's game designer first rendered it into

2D computer graphics.

Then, 3D computer artists created virtual versions

of the working parts.

Next, Stern built a prototype play field

to test the electronics and basic gameplay.

Once approved, the game went into production.

[air whooshing] - This is cable department.

We use an average of over a half a mile of wire

in every pinball machine we manufacture.

We have operators that are on the line over here.

It's a progressive line,

and each operator will add one wire at a time

until a complete wire harness is built.

- [Narrator] The wire harnesses travel down assembly lines,

as workers carefully craft an incredibly complex maze

that includes all the electronic components and lights.

[upbeat music]

On the top of the surface of the play field,

workers attach all of the hardware,

including the flippers, bumpers, and the custom design props

for each game.

By the time they're done,

each of Stern's games contain an average of 3,500 parts.

[upbeat music]

- We're in the play field test area.

In this section over here,

we test to make sure, electrically and mechanically,

all the components on a play field are working.

You have your flippers down here,

you have your ball kickers,

shoot the ball back out onto a play field.

The other thing, you have easy access to all the components,

so you could troubleshoot quicker.

You could flip the play field around,

but you have complete access to

all your electrical and mechanical components,

and that's how we troubleshoot 'em.

[air whooshing]

- [Narrator] If everything is working properly,

workers install the completed play fields in the cabinets,

fully test the finished games,

and then prepare them for shipment.

- These games will ship throughout the world.

We export about 40 percent of our games.

Today, we're making Austrian games,

so they have to be set up for Austrian coinage,

actually Euros, and with German language,

and what have you.

[air whooshing]

- [Narrator] While pinball games have changed a lot

over the years,

there's one key element that hasn't;

the pinball.

[upbeat music]

- It's one and 1/16th inches in diameter,

weighs 0.17 pounds, and it's gonna move along the play field

at 100 inches per minute.

These were originally just ball bearings.

I don't know if they're used for anything else now.

I do know that our manufacturers moved offshore,

and we had a little problem getting these for a while,

which would've been the end of the pinball business.

[air whooshing] [pinball clinking]

- [Narrator] For decades,

making a gleaming pinball roll around and rack up points

has endlessly fascinated gamers,

[bell dinging] but other arcade machines

turn your shiny coins into the game piece.

[upbeat music]

When inserted into the machine,

they don't fall directly into the coin box,

but become part of the play,

adding a little edge to winning or losing.

When customers insert their coins into

a certain variety of machine,

they hope they will cause other coins to fall off shelves.

[air whooshing]

But all those coins teetering on the edge

tempt some into not playing fair.

- Now, you get a lot of people

who are always trying to cheat the arcade and the game.

They think, give it a good, swift shake

and you'll win some of those.

But as you see, you shake it, the alarm goes off,

those quarters fall down, but you don't get any tickets.

[coins clinking] [upbeat music]

- [Narrator] In arcades you win tickets instead of coins,

no gambling allowed.

Of course, countless fortunes have been deposited into

casino slot machines by those hoping to turn

a small investment into big winnings.

[coins clinking]

But, for some reason, in an arcade,

inserting way too many quarters to pluck a puny prize

out of those claw machines is considered a victory.

[upbeat music]

Before legislation, operators were able to

change the tension on the claws,

or program the machine to allow a win

every certain number of plays.

Now, everybody must get an equal, if still slim,

chance of winning.

When OK Manufacturing, the gumball guys,

decided to manufacture a crane game,

they came up with a kinder, gentler variation

called Tractor Time.

[upbeat music]

- If you don't win a prize, it will keep going.

It senses there's no prize,

and in our machines, 'cause they're winner every time,

you get a second chance.

[machine whirring]

A sensor and an eye will see the product pass through.

Once the eye sees the product pass through here,

it activates, and tells the machine to stop.

[upbeat music]

- [Narrator] There's a blue collar side

to coin operated machines.

They provide all kinds of services,

from lockers and luggage cart rentals

[air whooshing] to laundromats.

Today, there are about 18,000 laundromats

in the United States, a 20 percent decline since 2005.

[upbeat music]

The Census Bureau attributes this steep drop

to more washers and dryers being offered in apartment units.

This isn't to say that they aren't profitable.

[air whooshing] [upbeat music]

The average machine can bring in $20,000 to $30,000 a year.

Coin operated machines are available to help

clean out and wash our cars.

But then again,

it's because of our cars that we had to

start paying for air,

and also must deal with many people's

least favorite coin operated machine.

There are currently over five million parking meters

in the United States.

The first one was installed in Oklahoma City

on July 16th, 1935.

For the first 50 years, they were all mechanical.

But over the past few years,

they are quickly becoming obsolete.

- What we have here is a parking meter

that was made in the 1950s.

This is a Park-o-meter.

This has a big main spring in the meter.

The technician would come by weekly,

and put the crank inside the back of the meter,

and would wind the timer,

and they would store energy for the remainder of the week.

- [Narrator] Other mechanical meters

let the customer do the winding after inserting each coin.

[air whooshing] [upbeat music]

Then, in the mid '80s,

there was a new meter on the block.

- In 1985, the City of Beverly Hills

began to replace their mechanical meters

with this first generation electronic meter citywide.

The benefits are the single coin slot

for all of the coins, less moving parts,

and an electronic log of

the valid and invalid coins that are inserted in the meter.

Because it's electronic, it does take a nine volt battery,

which we replace about once a year.

[upbeat music]

- [Narrator] Beverly Hills, California currently has

3,100 meters in operation,

and they bring in about $2.5 million a year.

[coins clinking]

Will that be a cash or credit?

- The City of Beverly Hills was

the first city in the United States

to deploy a credit card meter on street.

It still accepts coin, but you can insert your credit card.

You can add more or less time, press okay,

and the meter will process your credit card immediately.

It also has a solar panel,

and it's capable of text messaging

our enforcement and our maintenance personnel

if the meter is vandalized or jammed.

- [Narrator] While parking meters are

surviving and thriving in the 21st century,

[coins jingling]

payphones are barely hanging on.

[air whooshing] [upbeat music]

But there was a time when the payphone was indispensable.

- In 1964, when the US mint was ready to change

the metallic composition of US coins,

they consulted with the Bell System

and other interested parties

to ensure that the new coins would still work

in the public payphone system of the US.

[jovial music]

- [Narrator] The first payphone,

called a coin phone back then,

went into service in Chicago in 1898.

By 1902, there were over 80,000 in the United States.

In 1910, there was even a portable model.

- This is an example of a three slot payphone

that is not mounted on a wall or found in a phone booth,

but has a handle.

It's made out of aluminum, it's fairly lightweight.

It could be carried all over

the Wanamaker Department Store for whom it was made.

It was made so that the store employees could

carry it into the restaurant,

or to other parts of the store, for customer use.

It had a long cord that could be plugged in

wherever there was a phone jack.

[air whooshing] [upbeat music]

- [Narrator] In the 1920s and '30s,

special devices turned

the regular phones of small businesses into pay phones.

- If I take the receiver off the hook,

in preparation for using the phone,

and drop a nickel in the slot,

and press the lever, it pulls the little arm or fork

out of the dial, leaving the dial free to turn,

and for me to dial my call.

When I'm finished with a call,

I place the receiver on the hook,

and the arm returns to the lock position in the dial,

and it's ready for the next person to come along

and make a call.

- Here's a good example of a three slot payphone

from the '50s.

A local call would cost a dime or a nickel.

If you wanted to make a long distance call,

you had to get the operator involved.

- That'll be 35 cents.

- [Narrator] The most surprising thing

about commercial payphones, however,

is how simple the coin mechanisms were,

all the way up to 1965,

before electronics were first incorporated.

[coins clinking] [phone ringing]

- And by getting the operator involved,

she would be listening to a series of sounds

as you put the coins through.

[coin clinking]

In order for her to put the call through,

she would listen, and they made distinctive sounds,

A quarter would go the slot and go right to a bong sound,

[quarter bonging]

and she'd know that you put a quarter in.

Next would be the dime.

She would listen for two ding sounds.

[dime dinging]

So, it actually came around and hit the top of the bell

and the bottom of the bell, remarkably simple.

Then, you put the nickel in,

and it'll hit the bell one time.

[nickel dinging]

The phone had no idea of knowing

how much money was collected.

It was up to the operator,

and she kept count at the central office,

and then she would go ahead and put your call through.

- [Narrator] In the 1990s,

the number of payphones in the United States

reached over 2.6 million.

[air whooshing]

But because of the explosion of cell phone usage,

the payphone is fading fast,

with only roughly 100,000 of them remaining.

[upbeat music]

- [Narrator] Many coin operated machines are becoming

less reliant on coins,

and more on alternative payment methods.

Bill acceptors were only the beginning.

Now, many apartment tenants can simply swipe a smart card

to do their laundry,

and vending machines selling high priced items,

they only take credit cards.

- Here, at Macy's, we found that our customers really enjoy

getting their gadgets from the vending machine.

It's really quick and easy,

and you can buy it within a matter of seconds.

[air whooshing]

- [Narrator] It's estimated that

the average US household has about $113 of spare change

just sitting around.

Nationwide, that's about $15 billion worth.

The Coinstar Company found a way to cash in on

the public's coin reserves,

by placing its high speed counting machines

in supermarkets and other retail outlets.

[coins clinking]

In the 17 years Coinstar has been in business,

it has processed over 350 billion coins,

with an average transaction of $68 at each Coinstar machine.

- Right from the beginning of Coinstar,

we networked all of our machines,

so we know all the information from every single machine

right across the world.

and our largest ever transaction was $13,000 in pennies

from a gentleman in Alabama.

[upbeat music]

- [Narrator] Coinstar's main manufacturing facility

is located in Kent, Washington.

Workers assemble about a thousand machines a year here.

[upbeat music] [air whooshing]

- The Coinstar machine is very simple to use.

You bring your coin jar to the machine,

[machine beeping] follow the prompts,

[machine beeping] choose your language,

[machine beeping] and the coin machine asks you

to put your coins directly into the machine.

[coins clinking]

This is the first stage of actually cleaning the coins.

[coins clinking]

- As the consumers bring these in,

you'd be shocked at what we see in here.

We see paper clips, washers,

we see all kinds of gum, and everything else.

As they put it in here,

notice that there are holes in here

that are smaller than any of the coins.

[coins clinking]

Then, it goes through this piece,

where you have a turning mechanism here

that actually is beating the coins apart.

And as they beat the coins apart,

also any debris that'll fall out of there.

[coins rattling]

- I'm now gonna open up the machine.

And, once all the debris has been removed

through the cleaning process,

all the coins drop down into the coin counting device

at the bottom here.

- This here is our coin counting device

outside of a machine.

Over here, behind this fancy black box,

is our intellectual property that we use

to actually run this device.

A consumer comes up, they drop their coins in.

[coins clinking]

As it goes through here,

you'll notice that this machine starts running through here.

Each one of these arms are picking up coins

and running it down this coin rail.

[coins clinking]

As it runs through the coin rail,

notice how the coins are separating.

This allows time for each coin to be sensed.

This sensor knows that it's a penny, a nickel, a dime,

quarter, half dollar, dollar,

and actually will recognize that and keep track of that

in our system.

[coins clinking]

- [Narrator] Just past the coin sensor is a metal plate,

moving too fast to be seen by the naked eye.

[coins clinking]

When the sensor detects a good coin,

the plate jumps forward and sends it down a chute

leading to the holding bins below.

The plate doesn't jump

when foreign coins and non-valid objects, like slugs,

are sensed, and they fall down another chute,

so customers can recover their rejects.

- At the end of every transaction,

a voucher is produced, a fee is charged

for using the service,

and you then take the voucher to the checkout

to exchange for cash,

or you can choose a gift card now

and get free coin counting.

[coins rattling]

- [Narrator] The counted coins are held inside the machine

in two secure steel bins.

- Each bin holds over 500 pounds of coin.

Our network tells us when to collect these bins.

We have special moving devices

that allow our companies to come in and collect these coins

and take them directly to

the processing centers for counting.

[upbeat music]

- [Narrator] In the Los Angeles area,

trucks bring Coinstar's bins to a coin processing center,

operated by Brinks.

[upbeat music] [air whooshing]

The driver rolls the bins off the truck

into a secure loading dock

in which the inner and outer doors are never opened

at the same time.

[upbeat music]

Once all the full bins are exchanged for empty ones,

the inner door opens, and the full bins are rolled

into the facility,

[upbeat music]

Brink's employees place each bin on an elevator,

and then unlock it, so the coins can pour into

a sorting device.

[upbeat music]

Vibrating discs full of holes

eliminate anything bigger or smaller than US coins.

Then, they travel up a conveyor

and into a counting and sorting mechanism.

- These machines here have the capability of processing

approximately 5,000 to 8,000 coins per minute.

Not only is it verifying and counting the coin,

but also it's separating the coin by denomination.

[coins clinking]

- [Narrator] Each denomination pours down a tube

and into a bin.

When a bin is full, it's moved over to a scale.

- They get weighed to verify that

the appropriate amount of money that was processed

is actually in the bin.

[air whooshing] [machinery beeping]

- [Narrator] When it's time to

prepare the coins for recirculation,

workers dump them into another series of machines,

each designed to handle a specific denomination.

[coins clinking]

This machine is counting quarters,

organizing them into a steady stream,

and inserting 40 quarters at a time into a plastic sleeve.

[coins clinking]

Now, human hands take over,

and place the plastic wrapped tubes of coins into boxes,

and box after box onto pallets.

[air whooshing]

- This is the largest coin center in the world.

We process over three billion coins just for Coinstar alone.

These boxes here are going back into circulation

for our customers, such as banks, supermarkets.

And, as well, here we have canvas bags filled with coin

that will be going to the federal reserve

for recirculation.

[air whooshing]

- [Narrator] A circulating coin can last

approximately 30 years.

Once the federal reserve takes those coins

out of circulation,

they're replaced with new ones from the US mint.

[air whooshing]

Once those coins are then minted,

a new circulation cycle begins.

So, how long is the life expectancy of a penny?

Just 12 years.

[coins clinking]

[electronic dance music]

- [Narrator] Modern arcade games may offer wild interactivity

and imaginative graphics,

[air whooshing]

but some of the mechanical coin operated amusements

of the past deliver their own special brand of

fascinating, eccentric, and often bizarre entertainment.

[upbeat music]

At Musée Mécanique, located

on Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco,

Dan Zelinsky uses roller skates to race around a huge room.

[cheerful organ music]

It houses the vast collection

his late father began for the public to enjoy.

Most of the machines will set you back

just a quarter or two.

- Of all the machines that my father and I

have collected here, at the Musée Mécanique,

this is the largest one in the collection.

It was made in the 1930s,

and it was all hand carved by a single individual.

This is a great deal for the public in general.

For 50 cents, you can get 10, 20, or 30 people

to crowd around this, and watch the entire thing

come to life at the drop of a coin.

[cheerful music]

[air whooshing] [upbeat music]

- [Narrator] Usually, the appeal of the machines is obvious.

Who doesn't enjoy an all monkey band?

There are some machines that must have been

a bit of a letdown

when customers first had the chance

to put their hard earned coins in them,

but other curiosities are well worth the investment.

This circus is made entirely out of toothpicks.

Obviously, this sort of intricate work is done by

someone with a lot of spare time on their hands.

[air whooshing]

- This is a toothpick Ferris wheel.

It's not terribly elaborate,

but what makes it interesting is

it was made by a San Quentin prisoner.

It's part of a larger display

that was constructed of over 150,000 toothpicks.

[air whooshing] [upbeat music]

- [Narrator] The vintage oddities

at the Musée Mécanique are certainly

unique, but a search for truly weird coin operated fare

inevitably brings you to Farmington Hills, Michigan.

- Welcome to Marvin's, known from coast to coast,

like butter and toast.

Nowhere in the contiguous United States

or other environments is a place like Marvin's.

Welcome, have fun!

- [Narrator] Just about every inch of

ceiling, wall, and floor space is jam-packed.

The museum is over 5,000 square feet,

and has over a thousand electrical outlets

to power all the historic and modern machines,

[upbeat music]

His interest in these mechanical wonders

began about 50 years ago.

- When I was in college,

I was fascinated by these coin operated machines,

and I started collecting.

Well, after I graduated in the early '60s,

I couldn't quit collecting.

- He started collecting and collecting this stuff.

He overtook my mother's house.

1980, she took me to a food court,

and thought, "What a great place for

"your dad to get this stuff outta my house

"and put it for other people to enjoy."

[air whooshing]

- [Narrator] Marvin is the ultimate collector,

always on the lookout for,

well, unusual coin operated contraptions

to add to his museum.

[air whooshing] [organ music]

- [Marvin] These wooden automata

that the craftsmen are still making these machines here,

so there's a place to buy old ones and new ones,

which I like equally well.

- [Narrator] Many of the old penny arcade machines

have a decidedly dark bet.

[coin clinking] [ominous music]

Intricate motors and gears cause small robotic figures

to act out all sorts of ghoulish scenes,

including the horrors of the Spanish Inquisition.

In keeping with this grisly tradition,

Marvin decided his customers might enjoy

firing up an electric chair.

- Now, this machine, I found as a Halloween prop,

and I added a case and a coin accepting mechanism, and watch.

[man screaming]

It may be a little too intense for younger children.

- Another machine

turns the tables on Marvin's customers,

and delivers a shocking experience.

- This machine is Challenge Killer-Watt,

a machine unique to my museum.

It was built by a friend of mine,

a robotics engineer from Ohio,

and the idea of the machine

is to keep your hands as long as you can on these handles.

- Ah, a cute little hero to take on Killer-Watt, huh?

- Actually, a little static electricity is produced,

very light, and very non dangerous,

but it does give you a little tingle.

- Don't worry, try a little of this.

Whoa, I love it!

- In the old days, there were some machines

that did give you a shock,

[laughing]

but, of course, in today's litigious society,

we can't have anything like that.

[upbeat music]

- [Narrator] From pinball to fortune tellers,

it's easy to spend a small fortune in coins here.

But with the fun and excitement these machines provide,

[kids shouting] it's money well spent.